On Tuesday, April 23, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) was quick to announce the good news. "The attendance record for a women's rugby match in France will be broken," according to the FFR, on Saturday, April 27, when Les Bleues take on England at 5:45 pm for the fifth and final day of the Six Nations Tournament. Some 27,000 tickets for Bordeaux's Stade Chaban-Delmas had already been sold on Friday, for the unofficial "final" of the competition between the last two unbeaten teams.
This support will be a welcome boost for the French, who have been looking to win the tournament since 2018. But all the fans decked out in blue will likely not scare the Red Roses too much. In 2023, the English club had disposed of Les Bleues and conquered a fifth consecutive Grand Slam in front of over 58,000 spectators packed into Twickenham Stadium, on the outskirts of London.
The English public's enthusiasm confirms the lead English women's rugby has taken over the rest of the international game. The English team have collected a string of honors: two world titles, 19 Six Nations tournaments (a record), 10 consecutive victories over Les Bleues, first place in the world rankings, etc. The only hiccup in recent years was a lost World Cup final against New Zealand, in November 2022. But since then, no team has managed to make the Roses wither.
"England are always very clinical," explained Les Bleues heel Agathe Sochat. "Their players do simple things, but to perfection, playing on their opponents' mistakes. We talk a lot about their forwards, but they also have a very strong three-quarter line." The Irish can attest to this, having lost heavily (88-10) in their last match against the English.
'Money is the sinews of war'
While the dramatic difference in that scoreline may have come as something of a surprise, there was never any doubt as to the fate of the match. The Red Roses' squad is second to none, buoyed by high-level internal emulation. In 2017, the English Rugby Union invested €3 million over three years in its women's league. Its players have become semi-professional, with the exception of those defending the national white jersey, who devote themselves full-time to rugby.
This situation is still a long way off in France. While 32 players in the France squad have a federal contract with the FFR and semi-professional status, the rest have to reconcile rugby and work. The Elite 1 championship – the first women's division in France – remains at amateur level for the time being. To follow the matches, you need to be an avid oval ball fan, as the competition has no broadcaster.
"The championship isn't very balanced," confirmed Sochat. "In the club, the girls work during the day and train in the evening. It's a complicated mix to have any kind of social life. The media coverage of the French team needs to wake up, because the English are definitely ahead of the game. Money is the sinews of war."
Across the Channel, the good form of English rugby is attracting advertisers and creating a virtuous circle. Its championship, the Premier 15s, was sponsored from 2017 by a famous brand of potato chips, replaced after the Covid-19 pandemic by a major insurance group.
Although the competition is being crushed by Gloucester-Hartpury this season (13 wins in as many games), there are some top-class players in several clubs, such as third-row Marlie Packer, voted best player in the world in 2023, who plays for Saracens. Woman of the match against Ireland, fullback Ellie Kildunne, for her part, defends in the colors of Harlequins. This is the ideal way to get in plenty of action over the course of the year and sharpen up your studs before the international games.
France mixes youth and experience
But the English aren't betting everything on a few headliners. Their talent pool enables them to adapt easily to injuries and retirements. "There are a lot of players with great individual qualities in England, and that's what gives them their collective strength," summed up French scrum-half Alexandra Chambon at a press conference on Tuesday. Does this make the match look like a mission impossible for Les Bleues? "We've spotted little opportunities in their game and we want to get something out of it by concentrating on ourselves," replied French number 8, Emeline Gros.
Faced with the insolent self-assurance of the Red Roses, France will be fielding a team combining youth and experience. Seven of the 23 players selected for the match are under the age of 24. At 19, scrum-half Lina Tuy won't be on the team sheet this Saturday, but she still has fond memories of this battle between England and France in the lower categories. "The coaches made us understand that these duels were special matches," she said.
And never mind the history of opposition between the two nations. "Most of the players weren't there in 2018 when we beat them and haven't experienced all the defeats. There's been a lot of new blood," stressed Sochat, who promises that the French team "won't have any complexes," even if "there may have been a glass ceiling in the past." Tuy agreed: "We're keen to get to grips with this kind of selection. It's an opportunity for us."
It's also an opportunity not to give even more confidence to a "perfidious Albion" which already has more than enough. A defeat for the Red Roses would cause a stir on the other side of the Channel, as the 2025 World Cup will take place... in England.